Project Ara is alive: developers will get the first modular smartphones in the autumn

The project of modular smartphone with open platform Project Ara from Google is not only alive, but also coming to the final stage of development. At the Google I / O conference for developers on Friday, a company representative cheered all lovers of iron with the fact that the project moved from the advanced development department to the business unit.

The version of the phone for developers will appear in the fourth quarter of this year. The commercial version (which, as promised, will be thinner and easier), will appear in 2017. Toward the end of the year, a marketing research will take place in the United States. Last year, the company wanted to release a phone to the Puerto Rico market, but changed its mind, citing the need for further development of the project.


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At the conference, in particular, a module for Ara with a video camera was demonstrated. The purpose of the modules for the smartphone is limited only by the imagination - in addition to the standard screen, battery or camera, the developers are already thinking about medical devices, measuring devices, laser pointers, mini-projectors, etc.

The development of the modular smartphone project began with a concept in 2012. It is assumed that the user will be able to assemble his phone on the basis of standard frames (mini size - approximately from Nokia 3310, and medium size - approximately from LG Nexus 5). The endoskeleton will be based on Google, and an open hardware platform will allow third-party companies to release the remaining components.



The sizes of the modules will be standard, and any module can be inserted in a suitable place in the frame. In this case, it will be possible to hot swap modules without turning off the phone — even the battery module, since the backup battery will be built into the frame for this case. How the modules will be kept in the frame until it is revealed - the team rejected the original version with permanent magnets, but does not provide all the details.

It is believed that such a smartphone will help to overcome the problem of the rapid obsolescence of iron and reduce the amount of electronic debris, as well as allow users to update obsolete or failed components.